Page 74 of Memory of Ashes

“Did you forget about the Lifesource? You really think that the king would do all of this with nothing to gain?” Casyl looked at him, pleading. “Do I really need to order you to do this for me, for her?”

Ruven exhaled hard. “You know you don’t, but it’s no simple task you’ve given me.”

“Get her away tonight, when the camp’s asleep. She will hopefully be able to find where she entered our world. You’ll need to go into the forest towards the mountain to reach it. Be careful.”

Ruven nodded.

Casyl walked over and grabbed his shoulders. “Thank you, brother.”

They returned to the camp, Ruven rejoining his men and Casyl rejoining the feast.

When the feast had ended and the tent had cleared, the king ordered Amelia to be brought to them.

The knot in his stomach grew.

Two guards entered the tent, bringing Amelia with them. Her hands trembled, but he tried not to look at her too intently. He didn’t want to draw his father’s attention.

He listened, lips pressed tightly together, as his father kept up the charade of returning her to her world.

She searched his face for reassurance. He lowered his head before his expression betrayed him.

He wouldn’t lie to her.

He forced himself to breathe slowly as his pulse throbbed in his neck.

The king noticed her attention shift towards Casyl. He turned his cold eyes towards him, and that’s when Casyl knew that he had made a mistake.

He was suspicious. That was all it would take.

Amelia was dismissed.

The king walked directly towards Casyl, then lunged for him like a striking snake. Casyl dodged, backing away.

“What are you doing?” Casyl snarled.

“I think the question is, what have you done?” the king retorted.

His father was about to see everything that he’d been hiding.

“Guards!” the king yelled, and they entered, blocking the tent exit. These were the king’s personal guards. They might respect Casyl, but they wouldn’t hesitate to do what the king ordered. “Make sure he doesn’t leave.”

They stood, weapons drawn, ready.

Casyl could fight them easily, but all the king needed to do was to place his hand on him and he’d come undone. All his secrets, memories, everything, would be his to rummage through.

He made a dash for it, hoping he’d be able to get through. They grabbed him, and the king lunged, his hand gripping Casyl’s shoulder, and his body sagged to his knees. He tried to fight him, to push him away mentally, but he was stronger.

His memories were sorted and discarded until the king found what he was looking for. Casyl watched helplessly as his memory of Amelia replayed for the king.

“Oh, Casyl,” the king said. “We’ve all had a dalliance with the forbidden fruit.”

And then he saw it. The betrayal.

He plucked the recent memory from his mind, and Casyl watched in horror as he saw himself telling Ruven to get Amelia away.

“You would defy me?” the king asked quietly, outraged. The fury and hurt were undeniable in his eyes. “You would betray me, your father, your king, for this human girl?”

Casyl couldn’t move under his powerful grip.